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 Good Monday Morning,Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, observed every year on December 1st, and established by the World Health Organization in 1988. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic. This evening at 6PM in Judge Spofford's courtroom in Carmel, Lori Kemp will once again be called to answer a charge against a man she directly ordered to leave her property. The man "fell" and allegedly hurt himself so bad that he would not go through the hassle of filing charges against her. But the cop on the scene (there was a cop on the scene?) decided that he would instead and the case moves forward from there. You can get some background on Lori and her issues in Carmel here, here, here, here and here. The last time Lori was in court for this charge, when the judge called her name a dozen stood in solidarity with her. Let's see if we can do better than that this evening.On Tuesday, December 1st, and back by popular demand come the "The Spoon River After Life Support Group." It's an open house acting class at Arts On The Lake (in the old firehouse) on Route 52 at 7:30 PM. And yes, you may be asked to participate. Call now for reservations now 845 228-2685. It's Free! "Inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious," that's what Suffolk county Judge Jeffrey Spinner called OneWest bank just before he wiped out $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by that California based company (a receiver of more than $700 million in bailout monies) on a LI couple, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts. See the story below. While it seems this next story has had traction these past few days, had I published last week we would have it first! What does Greg Ball and Michaele Salahi and Tareq Salahi, the gate-crashers at the White House last week have in common? Apparently they're connected. Thanks to an NTM blog reader who sent this link.Parks & Trails New York has launched a new on-line guide to multi-use trails in New York State. Called TrailFinder, the site focuses on trails and greenways that allow multiple uses such as walking, bicycling, in-line skating, cross-country skiing and, in some cases, horseback riding and snowmobiling. TrailFinder includes 115 trails, totaling more than 1200 miles. Visitors can search for trails in several ways—by trail name, by trail attributes such as length, surface, allowable uses, and distance from a particular location, or by browsing the interactive map. Trailhead parking areas are included, as are directions and nearby bike shops and other amenities such as bicycle-friendly bed & breakfasts.You're trying to sell your house and can't seem to get the price for it you want. It's an old story especially since the Bush recession set in last year. But things aren't nearly as bad as they seem. While the US has seen, on average, a decline of some 2.2% in the price of homes this past quarter, if you live in Iceland you've seen your home depreciate by 21% and in In the UK by 4%. In fact, the US sits squarely in the middle of the pack. But woe if you live in Latvia where home prices have declined 60% in this past quarter. Well, at least now you know if you're looking to buy, Latvia is the place and the Kiselis is cheap and plentiful! Tales from Black Friday: A Wal*Mart in Upland, California, was closed for 3 hours and the customers thrown out the other night as shoppers went crazy, tearing open packages, fighting and running amok through the store. Quote for the day: America is not imperial in the traditional sense, of course. We are not colonists. We have little interest in actually conquering territory. But we do have an overabundance of faith in the ability of our military to insure our security and our economic interests across the globe. Our military foots the bill for the defense of Europe and our Asian allies, allowing those countries to spend their own tax revenues on lavish safety nets and top-notch education programs. Meanwhile, Americans pay for Leviathan. Or at least the Leviathan with the guns. PlanPutnam’s Annual Fund Drive is in Progress! And now, The News:
Richland County development: Group finds art of compromiseBy DAWN HINSHAWdhinshaw@thestate.com A group of Richland County residents who at first had little in common has found after months of debate that development laws can be changed to suit builders and environmentalists, too. The county-organized forum lasted nine months and involved as many as 50 people. They scrutinized laws - on the width of streets, for example, and tree conservation - to come up with 22 proposals to cut growth-related pollution in lakes, rivers and streams. "Everybody polite, too," developer Steve Corboy said. "No fistfights, no screaming, no yelling - except for the second-to-the-last meeting." At a time when the us-vs.-them mentality stokes national debate, participants in Richland County's development round table say they managed to reach a consensus and gain respect for each other's point of view. The success, in part, was due to being invited to issues on the front end rather than being forced to take positions on the back end. "It demonstrates that it is possible for people with different agendas to find common ground," said Tracy Swartout, superintendent of Congaree National Park. "It's possible not to let perfection stand in the way of progress. "If we wait to try to find that perfect answer, or we each fall on swords over our individual issues, no one wins." Read More Judge blasts bad bank, erases 525G debt"inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious,"By KIERAN CROWLEY, RICH WILNER and DAN MANGAN A Long Island couple is home free after an outraged judge gave them an amazing Thanksgiving present -- canceling their debt to ruthless bankers trying to toss them out on the street. Suffolk Judge Jeffrey Spinner wiped out $525,000 in mortgage payments demanded by a California bank, blasting its "harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive" acts. The bombshell decision leaves Diane Yano-Horoski and her husband, Greg Horoski, owing absolutely no money on their ranch house in East Patchogue. Spinner pulled no punches as he smacked down the bankers at OneWest -- who took an $814.2 million federal bailout but have a record of coldbloodedly foreclosing on any homeowner owing money. "The bank was so intransigent that he [the judge] decided to punish them," Greg Horoski, 55, said about Spinner's scathing ruling last Thursday against OneWest and its IndyMac mortgage division. Read More Marcellus Shale Drilling: At Odds Over Land, Money and GasBy MIREYA NAVARROCHENANGO, N.Y. — Chris and Robert Lacey own 80 acres of idyllic upstate New York countryside, a place where they can fish for bass in their own pond, hike through white pines and chase deer away. But the Laceys hope that, if all goes well, a natural gas wellhead will soon occupy this bucolic landscape. Like many landowners in Broome County, which includes the town of Chenango, the Laceys could potentially earn millions of dollars from the natural gas under their feet. They live above the Marcellus Shale, a subterranean layer of rock stretching from New York to Tennessee that is believed to be one of the biggest natural gas fields in the world. As New York environmental officials draft regulations to allow drilling in the shale as early as next year, thousands of residents like the Laceys in upstate counties have banded together in coalitions to sign leases with gas companies for drilling on their land — for $5,000 to $6,000 an acre for a term of five years, and royalties of up to 20 percent on whatever gas is found. “When I heard about drilling, what came to mind was ‘Thank you,’ ” said Mrs. Lacey, 58, who has lived on her property here for 27 years with her husband, Robert, 68, a commercial insurance agent. “Finally our community can recover, and our children don’t have to leave the state to find jobs.” In New York City, natural gas exploration is largely seen as a threat to the drinking water the city gets from watersheds to the north in the Catskills. But in the rural communities above the shale, the reaction has been far more mixed — and far more contentious. Read More PlanPutnam’s Annual Fund Drive is in Progress! Tick Saliva: New Target for Lyme Disease VaccineA protein found in the saliva of ticks may prove to be an attractive target for a new type of Lyme disease vaccine. In studies in mice, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers at Yale University produced an antiserum against a protein in tick saliva that significantly reduced the likelihood that mice could be infected with the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease.Lyme disease first manifests in humans as a rash that may pass unnoticed. As the infection worsens, symptoms may include fever and chills, joint swelling, numbness, weakness, and even heart problems. The findings suggest a new way forward for Lyme disease vaccine development. Vaccines have traditionally targeted unique proteins found on the surface of pathogens. In the new studies, published in the November 19, 2009, issue of Cell Host & Microbe, the researchers show that it is possible to target molecules carried by a disease vector – not the pathogen itself. This could be an effective strategy to prevent Lyme disease, as well as malaria, dengue fever, and other diseases carried by arthropods such as ticks and mosquitoes, said senior author Erol Fikrig, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Yale University. Read More The Mess in the Corn Belt or "Turkey on the Combine"By Lisa M. HamiltonThis fall has been a mess for farmers in the Corn Belt. Rain this spring meant planting dangerously late, then cool weather delayed crops’ development. By September there was fear that corn across the Midwest wouldn’t finish the growing cycle before the first killing freeze. Most corn and soybeans are now safely mature, but seemingly endless rain has made that almost irrelevant. For most of the fall it has been too wet and muddy to get into the fields; when the combines do make it out, often the crop is too wet to harvest. On the chat group Crop Talk, farmers who were incredulous that they might be harvesting past Thanksgiving started joking about “turkey on the combine.” As the rain continued through October, the jokes spread. “Turkey on the combine for sure,” Michigan’s 7810greenmachine wrote, “and maybe I hang some christmas lights on it too...I have a feeling its going to be a long harvest.” By November 1, Illinois had only 19 percent of its corn harvested, compared to 86 percent in an average year. And it was the same story across the region—Iowa had 18 percent harvested, Indiana 28 percent. So, who cares? Really, why should this matter to non-farmers, particularly those who want to change the commodity-focused food system? Well, it’s true that the corn and soybeans at issue are neither locally sold nor organic; their growers are not people you’ll meet at the farmers market. And yet, with wheat, they are the basis for an overwhelming percentage of the calories consumed in this country. Likewise, the majority of family farms in the U.S. are part of this business. If you want to change the food system, this is it. Read More Securing America’s northern frontWashington’s War on Terror is disrupting sleepy communities on the Canadian border, where some can’t buy gasoline without a passport.By Colin Woodard — Special to GlobalPost SAINT STEPHEN New Brunswick – At Ferry Point, one could throw a stone across the Saint Croix River and hit Calais, Maine. And until September 11th, 2001, the narrow river was pretty much the only thing separating Calais from Saint Stephen, its Canadian twin. People were born in each other’s hospitals. Their children married one another. They shared their bowling leagues, fire departments, water supplies, community centers, and swimming pools. During the War of 1812, when they were supposed to be enemies, they even shared gunpowder so that Calais’ Fourth of July fireworks display wasn’t cancelled. Read More Behold: the world's 10 fattest countriesWe're talking to you, American Samoa. Kiribati, too.By Laurie Cunningham — Special to GlobalPost CHICAGO — If you tend to pack on a few pounds over the holidays, blame it on globalization. As the world has grown smaller, we’ve all grown larger — alarmingly so. In countries around the world, waistlines are expanding so rapidly that health experts recently coined a term for the epidemic: globesity. The common fat-o-meter among nations is body mass index (BMI), a calculation based on a person’s height and weight. The World Health Organization defines “overweight” as an individual with a BMI of 25 or more and “obese” as someone with a BMI of 30 or higher. (To see how you weigh in, use this calculator by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.) Today, one in three of the world’s adults is overweight and one in 10 is obese. By 2015, WHO estimates the number of chubby adults will balloon to 2.3 billion — equal to the combined populations of China, Europe and the U.S. Read More PlanPutnam’s Annual Fund Drive is in Progress! |
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Monday, November 30, 2009
News That Matters - November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
News That Matters - November 25, 2009 - Thanksgiving Edition
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| Good Wednesday Morning, A late start this morning. I had to run over to Newburgh to get Richie from the bus from Atlanta earlier today. He missed the first one and never called to say he'd be on the next. Kids these days! How do you deal with them? Help Support News That Matters:
Back to business... The Wigans football team (that's soccer to you Americans) lost 9-1, conceding 8 second-half goals, so they decided to give fans back their ticket fares. Defender Mario Melchoit said, "We feel that as a group of players we badly let down our supporters, and this is a gesture we have to make and pay them back for their tremendous loyalty," Imagine an American team doing that? Bill Moyers stood by President Lyndon Johnson's side while he debated the war in Vietnam. On a recent PBS special, LBJ's Path To War, Mr. Moyers closed with this: Now in a different world, at a different time, and with a different president, we face the prospect of enlarging a different war. But once again we're fighting in remote provinces against an enemy who can bleed us slowly and wait us out, because he will still be there when we are gone.I wish people were listening.  Upcoming Events:On Tuesday, December 1st, and back by popular demand: "The Spoon River After Life Support Group." It's an open house acting class at Arts On The Lake in the old firehouse on Route 52 at 7:30 PM. And yes, you may be asked to participate. Call now for reservations now 845 228-2685
Some Observations:
Suppose I'm sitting with one of my cats on my lap, and I die. When would the cat notice something was wrong?  So, this Christmas Creep thing... You know, where K-Mart has their decorations up in August, Home Depot puts their trees out in early October and my neighbor has had his up for the past two weeks? Consumer Reports ran a poll about this and here's what the American public had to say. The Question: When do you think it is appropriate for stores to start decorating for and promoting the winter holidays?
And now, The News
Farm family staves off sprawl in Bucks CountyBy Art CareyInquirer Staff Writer When 90-year-old Sam Snipes was a boy in the 1920s, Falls Township was a bucolic place with about 2,500 people. Nearly all the land was occupied by farms. In the ensuing years, some of that fertile soil was covered by a steel mill, a landfill, and the communities of Fairless Hills and Levittown. Today, the township population is about 35,000, and only two farms remain. One of those relics is the 150-acre Snipes farm near Morrisville. It is hemmed in by housing developments and highways, notably Route 1, a noisy, garish four-lane commercial corridor. The din of traffic can be heard from the porch of the homestead, built in 1854. The farm has been in the family since 1808, and forebears came to the area with William Penn. For decades, Sam and his brother Brad sold produce from the farm and operated a nursery. Five years ago, bowing to competition from big-box stores and chain gardening centers, they shuttered the enterprise. Read More Living in a Solar-Powered VillageSolar houses built for a competition are retiring as the homes for campus students.by Tomeka Weatherspoon It takes a solar village. On four separate occasions, students at the University of Missouri, Columbia, have entered the Solar Decathlon competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy. The contest challenges university teams to design, build and operate an attractive, energy-efficient solar-powered house. But what happens to the houses after the competition is over? At the University of Missouri, Columbia, the four houses are turned into residences for students. Potential dwellers fill out an application first and then, if selected, live in a home completely powered by the sun. Tomeka Weatherspoon visits the village and gives us some insight into what it's like to live there. Read More Renters becoming latest victims as foreclosure crisis widensSome tenants left in dilapidated buildingsBy Robin Shulman Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, November 23, 2009 NEW YORK -- A new wave of foreclosures stands to hurt people who may have never taken out a mortgage: renters. In cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, where many investors are carrying upside-down mortgages on large rental buildings, some tenants are watching their homes fall apart along with the financing. Janeia Sandiford, a 24-year-old GED student in New York, has two young children and a deteriorating apartment. When a leak over Sandiford's bathroom and kitchen caused the ceiling to flake off and then cave in, nobody came to fix it for a year, she said. She lacked heat most of last winter, and she has duct-taped her loose-fitting windows in place to cut down on drafts. "I'm really worried about the kids," she said. The real estate investment company Ocelot Capital Group bought the building where Sandiford lives and about two dozen others in the Bronx in 2006 and 2007. As the new owners struggled to keep up with payments, 10 of the buildings appeared on the city's list of most dilapidated rental properties in 2007 and 2008. Last winter, as Ocelot defaulted on its loans amid the deepening financial crisis, the buildings plummeted further into decline. Together, they racked up thousands of Code C violations --the most serious kind -- from housing inspectors. Fannie Mae, which had bought much of the debt from the original lender, entered foreclosure proceedings for Sandiford's building early this spring. A state court appointed receivers. In the meantime, the building on Manida Street has been beset by problems, according to tenants and their advocates, whose accounts were confirmed by the crumbling walls and damaged plumbing apparent on a tour of the property and its neighbor, also owned by Ocelot. Vandals stole the lock on the front door, giving squatters access to vacant apartments to sell drugs. Plumbing in the building was disrupted after the squatters broke through the walls and stole pipes to sell as scrap metal. Read More Police to drop theft charges against Lehigh U. non-tippersBy Riley Yates, Pamela Lehman and Tracy JordanOf The Morning Call 12:24 PM EST, November 23, 2009 Bethlehem police plan to withdraw theft charges against two college students who refused to leave a tip at a local pub for what they said was bad service, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said today. John P. Wagner, 24, of Wayne, N.J., and Leslie A. Pope, 22, of Pottsville were charged last month with a summary offense of theft of services after they wouldn't pay the more than $16 tip they were charged by Lehigh Pub on E. Fourth Street. The case has captured national attention and brought debate over a daily restaurant question: Is a tip mandatory or a reward for good service? "We're so glad this will be over," said Pope's mother, Denise Pope of Pottsville. "It's been a whirlwind of a week for my daughter." Leslie Pope attends Moravian College and Wagner attends Lehigh University. The police complaint issued Oct. 23 said Wagner and Pope paid only $73.87 of a $90.22 bill. Denise Pope said her daughter told her the remainder was for a supposedly 18 percent tip that her party was being charged. Leslie Pope told her mother the service was poor and after their salad and wings were dropped off, they never saw their waitress again. Denise Pope said her daughter and seven friends had to get their own drinks at the bar and search for silverware. Morganelli said Bethlehem Commissioner Randy Miller told him Friday that the department planned to drop the charges, a move Morganelli said he agrees with. "It would not be the kind of case that should be processed criminally," Morganelli said. "It was one of those matters that should be processed civilly." Lehigh Pub manager William Sheehan said Monday it was "news to him" that the charges were being withdrawn. Read More Police routinely arresting people to get DNA, inquiry claims• Which police force takes the most samples?Alan Travis The Guardian, Tuesday 24 November 2009Police officers are now routinely arresting people in order to add their DNA sample to the national police database, an inquiry will allege tomorrow. The review of the national DNA database by the government's human genetics commission also raises the possibility that the DNA profiles of three-quarters of young black males, aged 18 to 35, are now on the database. The human genetics commission report, Nothing to hide, nothing to fear?, says the national DNA database for England and Wales is already the largest in the world, at 5 million profiles and growing, yet has no clear statutory basis or independent oversight. The highly critical report from the government's advisory body on the development of human genetics is published as the number of innocent people on the database is disclosed to be far higher than previously thought ‑ nearing 1 million. Read More Scientists give grubby children a clean bill of healthBy Caroline Davies, The Guardian.co.uk, Monday 23 November 2009 20.16 GMTGrubby children Getting dirty as a child may well be the answer to a healthier, allergy-free life, according to researchers in California. Photograph: Gerard Fritz/Rex Features For parents too stretched to make sure their offspring are perfectly turned out at all times, it may just be the scientific cover they've been waiting for. They will now be able to answer the disapproving tuts of their more fastidious friends by pointing to research which gives biological backing to the old adage that the more germs a child is exposed to during early childhood, the better their immune system in later life Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California found that being too clean could impair the skin's ability to heal. The San Diego-based team discovered that normal bacteria that live on the skin trigger a pathway that helps prevent inflammation when we get hurt. These bugs dampen down overactive immune responses which can cause cuts and grazes to swell, or lead to rashes, according to research published in the online edition of Nature Medicine. Read More |
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Monday, November 23, 2009
News That Matters - November 23, 2009
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| Good Monday Morning,I'd like to thank those of you who have supported News That Matters this year but it's largely the same people who do so year after year and are carrying the weight for the rest of you! Let's see some new faces this year. Rumor has it that Greg Ball has decided against running for Congress and will step into Vinnie Leibell's State Senate seat when he steps down to run his Kingdom from the 4th floor of the County Office building in Carmel, sending Bob Bondi packing to his Steuben County Farm. That leaves the door open for Dan Birmingham to occupy the 99th Assembly District seat causing a special election to fill his County Legislative seat. Well, that's what the rumors are. The wheel bearings (or the wheel something-or-other) on my car are shot and there's no time to have them repaired by Thursday so I'm not driving to Long Island on Thanksgiving. Instead, I'm looking for a more progressive way to spend the day than hanging around and painting my house. Is anyone aware of a food kitchen or pantry that's serving that day where I could volunteer? The State Senate and Assembly are stuck in Albany not doing much of anything but blaming each other for the deadlock in budget negotiations. Republicans blame the Democrats and Democrats put their hands up and say, (fairly, I might add) "give us some ideas!" In the end you know as well as I that your taxes will go up since no one wants to give up any State services and then Republicans will point to the Democrats calling them 'tax and spend' (which is not unlike Governor Pataki who was a 'borrow and spend' Republican.) Whew! Fifteen year old teeny-bopper heart-throb Justin Beiber was supposed to make an appearance at the Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island the other day but the 3000 pre/post pubescent girls who showed up (some camped overnight) started pushing to get better position and when the dust settled 5 people had been taken to hospital for minor injuries. Justin never made it into the mall, being turned away by police outside who, no doubt, asked where his mother was. Wednesday's News That Matters will combine news and events for next weekend so if you've got something going on you want your fellow readers to know about please get it in pretty quick. I can't post on Friday as it's the traditional MAD DASH TO THE MALL DAY and I aim to be sitting in traffic, burning fossil fuels, contributing my share of greenhouse gases to global warming while waiting my turn to see Santa and give him my wish list and rudely jostle millions of fellow mall-goers forcing my way past them for that sale at Banana Republic. Honestly, how the heck are the reindeer going to fare after the ice melts? And now, The News:
Praising progress at Peach LakeBy Michael Risinit • mrisinit@lohud.com • November 22, 2009NORTH SALEM — Tom Duffy, chairman of the Peach Lake Coalition, stood on the porch of the Vails Grove Pavilion at the lake and gave a two-minute summary of the almost 40-year effort to rid the lake of pollution. His speech carried those who listened from 1971 to Saturday afternoon, from the initial effort to form a lake-improvement district to the receipt of almost $7 million in federal funds and the ceremonial groundbreaking to bring sewers to almost 500 homes. "The rest is history that is being written at this very moment," Duffy said Saturday. About 150 residents, community leaders and elected officials came to the shores of Peach Lake to herald the major chunk of funding for the $24 million project and to mark the progress. The project will replace failing septic systems and keep sewage out of the lake that straddles the Westchester-Putnam border. Many of the homes were built as summer cottages on small lots and have failing or inadequate septic systems. Among those in attendence were Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, who presented a $5 million check to North Salem and a $1.9 million check to Southeast. The amounts included federal stimulus money and other federal grants. Hall said the Peach Lake project, which is expected to create about 30 construction jobs, is why he voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read More 300,000 have visited Walkway; lighting being installedEmily Stewart • Poughkeepsie Journal • November 21, 2009Fred Schaeffer wants to make Walkway Over the Hudson the "friendliest park in the world." More than 300,000 people have visited the linear state park since it opened seven weeks ago, said Dave Barone, park manager. Schaeffer, chairman the nonprofit group responsible for turning the abandoned Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge into a park, envisions Walkway volunteers, or "ambassadors of goodwill," answering questions, making people feel at home and, yes, reminding guests to clean up after their pets. Construction of the Walkway was completed in September , but finishing touches are still being added. That includes LED lights under the railings, additional signage and an elevator that would take people from the Poughkeepsie Railroad Station up to the bridge. Benches, shade structures and permanent bathrooms are also on the agenda, according to Walkway officials. Schaeffer opens the park’s gates each weekend morning, often a little before 7 a.m. so people can catch the sunrise. Read More Now is the time for Cape WindPeter LehnerNRDC Executive Director, New York City Today in the NY Times, there's an exciting article about efforts to develop deepwater, floating wind turbines. The article makes it clear that there are still engineering and major costs hurdles, but I'm hopeful that one day floating wind farms will provide bountiful zero-carbon electricity. But we have to get started today, and fortunately we can. The Cape Wind project proposed for Nantucket Sound is ready to be built now. Unfortunately, with seemingly endless review, the future of Cape Wind continues to hang in the balance. On Tuesday, NRDC sent Secretary Salazar a letter (PDF) urging him to require that the Interior Department complete the review of the Cape Wind project and issue a final decision prior to the commencement of the U.N. Climate Change Conference on December 7, 2009. This letter echoes a similar message to the Secretary from Congressman Markey. It is time to have a clear indication from our federal government that offshore renewable energy is a priority in this country. As the administration and the world gear up for next month's meeting in Copenhagen, action approving the Cape Wind project would speak louder than words. Read More The New (Green) Arms Raceby Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Hobbled by opposition from the carbon incumbents and their short-sighted allies on Capitol Hill the Obama administration acknowledged this week that it would not return from Copenhagen with any groundbreaking commitment to control green house gases. Meanwhile, Congress is backsliding on the administration's wise commitment to impose a rational price on carbon. Behind the logjam, a treacherous U.S. Chamber of Commerce, always willing to put its obsequious scraping to Big Oil and King Coal ahead of its duty to our country, has battled every effort to accelerate America's transition to a market-based de-carbonized economy. The Chamber has continued to argue, idiotically, that energy efficiency and independence will somehow put America at a competitive disadvantage with the Chinese. Meanwhile, the Chinese have shrewdly and strategically positioned themselves to steal America's once substantial lead in renewable power. China will soon make us as dependent on Chinese green technology for the next century as we have been on Saudi oil during the last. Indeed, the Chinese are treating the energy technology competition if it were an arms race. China is spending as much or more on greentech as it does on its military, hundreds of billions of dollars annually on renewable energy and grid infrastructure improvements. Those investments, if not vigorously countered, will effectively erode America's greentech industry leadership and secure China's dominance. China's economic stimulus package, targeted 38% of spending on greentech, as compared to a miserly 12% of the U.S. stimulus program. By 2013, greentech will account for 15 percent of the Chinese GDP. While the United States is projected to roughly triple its wind generation by 2020, China will increase its capacity twelvefold to a wind generating capability more than twice that of America's. And, while the United States is projected to increase its installed solar generation a modest 33% by 2020, China's solar generation is projected to increase 20,000%. Read More 8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Our Food Systemby Robyn O'BrienThe landscape of health has changed. No longer are our families guaranteed a healthy livelihood, not in the face of the current rates of cancer, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's and allergies. In the words of Elizabeth Warren, Harvard University law professor who is head of the Congressional Oversight Panel, "We need a new model," and we need a new food system. It's our health on the line. 8 Steps Obama Could Take to Save Food: 1. Evenly distribute government moneys to all farmers. The current system allocates the lion share of our tax dollars (approximately $60 billion) to farmers growing crops whose seeds have been engineered to produce their own insecticides and tolerate increasing doses of weed killing herbicides. As a result, these crops, with a large chemical footprint, are cheaper to produce, while farmers growing organic produce are charged fees to prove that their crops are safe and then charged additional fees to label these crops as free of synthetic chemicals and "organic". If organic farmers received an equal distribution of taxpayer funded handouts from the government, the cost of producing crops free from synthetic chemicals would be cheaper, making these crops more affordable to more people, in turn increasing demand for these products which would further drive down costs. If we were to reallocate our national budget and evenly distribute our tax dollars to all farmers, clean food would be affordable to everyone and not just those in certain zip codes. 2. Reinstitute the USDA pesticide reporting standard that was waived under the Bush administration. In 2008, the USDA waived pesticide reporting requirements (a procedure that has been in place since the early 1990s) so that farmers and consumers would know the level of chemicals being applied to food crops. Given a report just released that reveals a 383 million pound increase in the use of weed killing herbicides since the introduction of herbicide tolerant crops in 1996 and the potential impact that this glyphosate containing compound is having on both the environment and on our health, perhaps the "don't ask, don't tell" policy assumed under the previous administration should be reversed. Read More Why Not Tax Wall Street?Comment By William GreiderWashington is experiencing a rare and disorienting moment. Big ideas for financial reform that have languished for years are suddenly gaining momentum. Instead of taxing folks to clean up after reckless Wall Street bankers, why not tax Wall Street? Instead of tolerating behemoths regarded as "too big to fail," why not break them up before they do more damage to the country? Instead of genuflecting before the mysterious Federal Reserve, why not strip the temple of its secrets and cleanse it of the self-interested bankers who shape Fed policy? The fact that these and other unsanctioned propositions are in play and even proposed by respectable figures indicates how deeply the established order has been rattled by the financial crisis. It also demonstrates that members of Congress who bailed out the bankers with public money are quite terrified of voter retribution in the next election. The center is not holding. That's good news for the Republic, because the center has long been subservient to the demands of financial power. Cynics will say this is a passing tempest that will come to nothing. They might be right. But reformers should make the most of it, at least to agitate the fears of elected politicians--including the president. Welcome to Mardi Gras, Washington-style. It feels like carnival time, when up is down and down is up, when humble folks parade as kings and queens and the reigning royals are dressed as clowns. As someone who has written about these heretical ideas for decades, I feel a bit giddy at the opportunities for real change, though mindful that the anarchy may not last long. The most startling evidence of reversal is Chris Dodd, chair of the Senate Banking Committee, who has been a loyal friend of Wall Street and especially Connecticut-based insurance companies. Dodd proposes to strip the Fed of its regulatory functions because of its "abysmal failure" to protect the public, and to replace it with an overarching regulatory administration. Dodd is no doubt motivated by his weak prospects for re-election next year. Still, he earns courage points for violating the longstanding taboo against criticizing the central bank. Likewise, Senator Richard Shelby, the ranking Republican on banking, wants to eliminate bankers' insider influence over regulation at the Fed. Read More Michigan State police want nearly $7 million to fulfill FOIA requestThe Michigan Department of State Police is charging the Mackinac Center for Public Policy nearly $7 million to fulfill its FOIA request for information on how the state has used homeland security grant money since 2002, the nonpartisan research group reported.A communications specialist at the center requested information after the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general released a report that detailed multiple implementation problems in how $129 million in security grants was spent in seven Michigan counties between 2002 and 2004. The center filed a follow-up FOIA request for all documents relating to homeland security grants in the state since 2002, but the state police department, which administers homeland security grants in Michigan, said there would be more than 2 million pages and that it would cost $6.9 million to process the request. Read More Big FootIn measuring carbon emissions, it’s easy to confuse morality and science.by Michael Specter February 25, 2008 A little more than a year ago, Sir Terry Leahy, who is the chief executive of the Tesco chain of supermarkets, Britain’s largest retailer, delivered a speech to a group called the Forum for the Future, about the implications of climate change. Leahy had never before addressed the issue in public, but his remarks left little doubt that he recognized the magnitude of the problem. “I am not a scientist,” he said. “But I listen when the scientists say that, if we fail to mitigate climate change, the environmental, social, and economic consequences will be stark and severe. . . . There comes a moment when it is clear what you must do. I am determined that Tesco should be a leader in helping to create a low-carbon economy. In saying this, I do not underestimate the task. It is to take an economy where human comfort, activity, and growth are inextricably linked with emitting carbon and to transform it into one which can only thrive without depending on carbon. This is a monumental challenge. It requires a revolution in technology and a revolution in thinking. We are going to have to rethink the way we live and work.” Tesco sells nearly a quarter of the groceries bought in the United Kingdom, it possesses a growing share of the markets in Asia and Europe, and late last year the chain opened its first stores in America. Few corporations could have a more visible—or forceful—impact on the lives of their customers. In his speech, Leahy, who is fifty-two, laid out a series of measures that he hoped would ignite “a revolution in green consumption.” He announced that Tesco would cut its energy use in half by 2010, drastically limit the number of products it transports by air, and place airplane symbols on the packaging of those which it does. More important, in an effort to help consumers understand the environmental impact of the choices they make every day, he told the forum that Tesco would develop a system of carbon labels and put them on each of its seventy thousand products. “Customers want us to develop ways to take complicated carbon calculations and present them simply,” he said. “We will therefore begin the search for a universally accepted and commonly understood measure of the carbon footprint of every product we sell—looking at its complete life cycle, from production through distribution to consumption. It will enable us to label all our products so that customers can compare their carbon footprint as easily as they can currently compare their price or their nutritional profile.” Leahy’s sincerity was evident, but so was his need to placate his customers. Studies have consistently demonstrated that, given a choice, people prefer to buy products that are environmentally benign. That choice, however, is almost never easy. “A carbon label will put the power in the hands of consumers to choose how they want to be green,” Tom Delay, the head of the British government’s Carbon Trust, said. “It will empower us all to make informed choices and in turn drive a market for low-carbon products.” Tesco was not alone in telling people what it would do to address the collective burden of our greenhouse-gas emissions. Compelled by economic necessity as much as by ecological awareness, many corporations now seem to compete as vigorously to display their environmental credentials as they do to sell their products. Read more |
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Friday, November 20, 2009
News That Matters - November 20, 2009 - Things To Do Edition
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Good Friday Morning,I'd like to thank those of you who have heeded the call to support News That Matters but it's the same people who do so year after year who are carrying the weight for the rest of you!I know that there are 450 or more people who receive this each day by email (I could name you all, if you'd like?) and another couple hundred who read online. I also know that those who most write to critique, comment or ask for access have never helped us out. What's with that?  Yesterday was World Toilet Day and I would appreciate it if someone were to ask the Town of Kent why they're spending tens of thousands of recreation dollars on a toilet facility at Farmer's Mills park when for $5000 they could have a two-stall composting toilet dropped on the site instead. I once asked the current board why this was and was told that the Putnam County health department would not allow it but Scenic Hudson is using them at the Cold Spring Foundry. I also found that all the town needs is a waiver from the health department and they're good to go. So why haven't they pushed for one? Then we have to ask why, in these times of tight budgets and the greening of all we do there's crews about to go out there digging wells, laying pipe, digging a leach field, running power and plumbing when a prefab deal would do just as well, be much more inexpensive and have the added benefit of producing compost for the Beautification committee?[I think that's my question of the day, "what's with that?"] Putnam CAP is gearing up for the distribution of Thanksgiving Baskets beginning on Monday, November 23rd. We make every attempt to include a pie for a traditional Thanksgiving dessert. As of now we expect to be distributing 500 baskets, but have only received commitments of approximately 200 pies (or other desserts). Still needed are boxed pies, preferably frozen, that can be included in each basket. (Storage of pies is difficult and while homemade is by far the best, it doesn't store or stack well in their limited space.)The success of the Walkway Over the Hudson project has spawned an imitator right here in new York State. The Rochester (NY) railroad bridge crosses the Genessee River at some 200' up and is some 700' long. An initial $135,000 worth of studies are underway to check the structural integrity of the bridge and if found sound, would become an integral part of that city's rail-trail network. The weather this weekend is supposed to be pretty fair so get out there and do something. And please remember, when you blow your leaves out into the street they go somewhere and that somewhere is often the nearest lake or stream or other body of water adding phosphorus and other pollutants that screw things up. Bag 'em or compost 'em. Tonight:Michelle LeBlanc Trio7:30 PM - at The Division Street Grill, 26 North Division Street, Peekskill NY 10566. Featuring: Saturday:Friends of the Kent Library - Mini Book Sale10am to 2:30pm -- The last of three Mini Book Sales will be held in the Program Room of the Kent Public Library (large selection - great for holiday gift giving). Be there! Thomas Paine Lecture2PM - The Southeast Museum will host a free lecture by Dr. J. Ward Regan. This talk is an examination of the life and writings of Thomas Paine at the end of the eighteenth century. By looking at his early political writings in England, Common Sense, and The Crisis Papers, the talk explores the integral role of Paine in not only the American Revolution, but also in the creation of a "democratic political ideology." The presentation will also explore the characterization of Paine as a preeminent philosopher, the genesis of radical politics, and a force in world events. Sunday:Driven to Abstraction1-4 PM With Jeanne Demotses. Presented by the Putnam Arts Council at Tilly Foster Farms. We will look at the principles which all artists rely upon to develop their paintings and discuss how those principles are used in abstract painting. Lecture & demonstration. Fee $40.
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Bill Crow is a legendary string bass player whose career has included performances and recordings with jazz greats like Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Marian McPartland, Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Ray Brown, and Milt Jackson. Bill has toured extensively through Europe and also in Japan and Russia. Bill writes about jazz and has authored two entertaining books: From Birdland to Broadway and Jazz Anecdotes. Visit him at 
Tom Kohl, composer, arranger and jazz pianist, has performed, recorded, and taught throughout the Northeast since 1982. He has worked with Quincy Jones, Clark Terry, Richard Davis and Marc Johnson. Tom's early studies with Archie Shepp and Dr. Horace Boyer instilled a deep sense of ensemble dynamics and harmonic adventure in his playing. Visit him at 
Michelle LeBlanc, jazz vocalist, has been performing in Hudson Valley jazz clubs and concert stages since the early 1990's. She has worked with many Hudson Valley jazz greats, including Bill Crow, Tom Kohl, David Amram, Joe Puma, Ed Xiques, Michael Abene, Carmen Leggio, and also with Calloway Brooks at the Rainbow Room in New York City. Michelle was awarded annual grants for ten years in a row from New York State Council on the arts supporting her series of shows titled "JAZZ: The American Story" in which she traces the development of jazz and the history that gave rise to this uniquely American art form. Visit her at 
Black Bears in New York
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